Nov. 9, 2012
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ATLANTA (AP) – Kammeon Holsey, who didn’t start due to an ankle injury, scored 18 points and Georgia Tech opened its season by beating Tulane 79-61 on Friday night.
Georgia Tech opened its new McCamish Pavilion, built on the site of the Yellow Jackets’ old Alexander-Memorial Coliseum.
Josh Davis led Tulane (0-1) with a career-high 27 points. Ricky Tarrant had 18.
Holsey, a junior forward, came off the bench less than 5 minutes into the game and immediately assumed a lead scoring role for Georgia Tech (1-0), which returns all five starters.
Brian Gregory opened his second season as Georgia Tech’s coach by starting freshmen forwards Marcus Georges-Hunt, who had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Robert Carter, Jr., who had nine points and seven rebounds. Another freshman, Chris Bolden, made two 3-pointers and had 10 points.
Junior center Daniel Miller had 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Georgia Tech. Miller helped the Yellow Jackets Georgia Tech take a commanding 47-23 advantage in rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets pushed their lead to double figures for the first time, at 20-10, on a jumper by Bolden. Georgia Tech led 39-30 before the Green Wave closed to within five points, at 41-36, on a basket by Davis early in the second half.
Georgia Tech took control with a 19-7 run. Holsey had a three-point play as part of his run of seven straight points during the run.
Davis made 12 of 15 shots for Tulane, but some of his teammates struggled from the field. Jordan Callahan made only 2 of 12 shots for four points. Center Tomas Bruha, who had only four rebounds, made only 2 of 7 shots for 4 points.
Georgia Tech had more than 140 former players, managers and trainers back for the game, including its first All-American, Roger Kaiser, and all-time leading scorer Rich Yunkus. Among other former players recognized at halftime were John Salley, Matt Harpring, Kenny Anderson and Dennis Scott.
Former coaches Bobby Cremins and Dwayne Morrison joined the players on the court.
Tulane took a 57-52 home win over Georgia Tech last season.
Georgia Tech announced a sellout, listed at 8,600.